Box and crate



Dec. 19, 1933.

G. C. BABCOCK BOX AND CRATE INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 19, 1933 UNITEDSTATES BOX AND CRATE Guilford C. Babcock, Morris Township, Morris County, N. J., assignor to stapling Machines 00., a corporation of Delaware Application May 2, 1929. Serial No. 359,821

1 Claim.

This invention relates to boxes and. crates and Figure 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative box embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a box blank which, when folded, constitutes the four. sides of the box shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the box blank of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the box blank of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail of one corner of the box, taken on the line 55 of Figure 1.

The illustrative box comprises four side sections and two end sections. The side sections are connected and held together by encircling wires, 1 and 2, stapled to the several sections. Each side section consists of a sheet or sheets of side material 3, an interior cleat 4 at either end of the section, and one or more exterior battens 5 preferably located intermediate the ends of the section.

The interior cleats 4 of the several sections form an interior cleat frame at either end of the box to reenforce the box and to'hold the end sections in place.

The exterior battens 5 preferably extend the full width of the section and are preferably grooved at their ends as at 6, for a purpose hereinafter explained. The exterior battens strengthen the box and reenforce the side material against bulging and other strains and thereby contribute to the rigidity of the box and make it possible to use thinner side material than has been the case heretofore in boxes of the wirebound type;

Binding wires 1 contact with the side mate rial 3 and are stapled to the side material and the interior cleats 4. Binding wires 2 overlie the exterior battens 5 and are preferably stapled Ito the battens by staples which pass through the battens and the side material and are clenched on the under side of the side material. When grooves 6 are provided in the ends of exterior battens 5, the wire 2 is lodged in said -grooves as shown in Figure 1, thereby offering an increased resistance to relative longitudinal shifting of adjacent sections and contributing to the rigidity of the box. Said grooves aiso serve to reduce the amount of slack wire required to be provided over adjacent batten ends to permit them to be folded from the fiat into box form as hereinafter explained, and, in certain embodiments of the invention, to eliminate the necessity of providing any slack wire over adjacent batten ends.

The completed box hereinbefore described is preferably constructed by first assembling and wiring in the flat the several side sections to produce the box blank shown in Figures 2 to 4 inclusive, and. then folding the flat blank into box form about the end sections which rest against the inner surfaces of the interior cleats and are preferably secured thereto by staples.

In applying the binding wires 1 and 2, wires 1 are drawn taut and laid in a straight line on the side material, while wires 2 are bowed over the intervals between adjacent ends of exterior battens, as shown at 7 in Figure 4, to provide a sufficient amount of slack wire at said points to permit the sections to be folded from the flat into box form. As shown in Figure 5, the folding of the sections from the flat into box form increases the distance between the upper surfaces of adjacent ends of the battens 3; said increase in distance varying with different thicknesses of battens. The amount of slack wire provided is preferably sufficient to permit the sections to be readily folded, while at the same time tensioning the wire somewhat over the box corner. When grooves 6 are formed in the ends of battens 3, a lesser amount of such slack is required, and, in some instances, such slack may be dispensed with entirely.

Among other advantages, the invention provides a light, inexpensive sectional wirebound shipping container possessing great strength and rigidity; the wirebound exterior. battens intermediate the box ends providing a rigidity and stiffness in the box and permitting the use of comparatively thin, light side material. The wires 2 lodged in the grooves 6 also contribute to the rigidity and stiffness of the box by resisting longitudinal shifting of adjacent edges of the sections.

I claim:

A foldable box blank comprising a plurality of separate sections of side material, each provided with a separate exterior batten, the battens of the several sections being in line with each other in end to end spaced relationship; a flexthe ends of said battens, said binder being of sufficient length to permit bowing the wire over the intervals between the exterior battens and being bowed over said intervals to provide a predetermined amount of slack binder such that both said binders will be substantially uniformly tensioned when the blank is folded into box form.

GUILFORD C. BABCOCK. 

